Question: Why do display networks vs. other forms of on-line advertising, say, advertising on Facebook, or buying ad space on a specific site?

Question: You discussed buying competitor keywords (brandnames) for AdWords. how to use competitor brands for SEO?

Answer: The DISPLAY NETWORK is akin to advertising in a newspaper or magazine. The different is you ‘buy’ space by keywords. Google attempts to match your keywords to the content of the blog, portal, Gmail, etc. I really think of Display Network as magazine advertising.

Facebook, LinkedIn advertising is actually quite close to that model. The difference is that you set up the ads based on demographics of the audience NOT keywords. (By the way, you CAN do this on the Display Network as well, but it doesn’t work very well). Both Display Network and Facebook / LinkedIn advertising are really ‘complementary’ to Google ads. Google ads are driven by keywords and the user is ACTIVELY searching; the Facebook / LinkedIn / Display Network is more like a magazine, browsing sort of activity.

In terms of CTR (Click through Rate). A good rate for the Display network is somewhere less than 1%. If you could break 1% on the Display Network that would be fantastic. The rate on the Google network can be as high as 5% – 7%. There is a HUGE difference in CTR’s because of the very different “mental modes” that users are in on each network.

As for your second question, you can buy / bid on competitor keywords in AdWords. In terms of SEO, you have to think CONTENT. A common way to do this is to create content that compares / contrasts your products with your competitors. A common word to use is ‘Review’ as in ‘Review of [Competitor name]’. But putting competitors products / names on your website can be a great content idea and pull in people searching for your competitors to at least give your alternative a look!

About
Jason McDonald, Ph.D

Got a question? Click this link to email Jason or call 888-993-1122. Dr. Jason McDonald is founder and Senior SEO / Social Media Director of the JM Internet Group. He teaches the SEO training classes for the group, and therefore provides most of the SEO tips for this blog. His goal with this blog is to provide an easy 'one-stop shop' for the busy marketer looking for tips, tricks, and secrets on how to get to the top of Google and Bing for free using proven SEO tactics. When not dreaming up SEO tips, Dr. McDonald lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, two dogs, a cat, four iguanas and twelve children (just kidding). Really you read down to the bio on this guy? Enjoy the blog.